Malloy leads by 8 in Connecticut Governor's Race

Public Policy Polling's first Connecticut poll of 2014 finds Dan Malloy with an 8 point lead for reelection over Republican foe Tom Foley, 43/35. Independent Joe Visconti is polling at 9%. Visconti is largely drawing voters away from Foley- his supporters say their second choice would be Foley by a 46/27 spread. In a head to head, Malloy's advantage over Foley is 6 points at 45/39.

Malloy's had low approval numbers throughout most of his term and that hasn't changed- only 40% of voters approve of the job he's doing to 50% who disapprove. But Foley's numbers are even worse with just 34% of voters holding a favorable opinion of him to 49% with an unfavorable one. The dislike of both candidates helps to explain why Visconti is getting such a high level of support. Malloy is actually winning more Republicans (17%) than Foley is Democrats (12%) which makes it very hard for a Republican to be successful in a state where Democrats have a substantial registration advantage.

Democrats are headed for a sweep up and down the ballot in Connecticut this fall. George Jepsen leads 45/30 for Attorney General, Denise Merrill is up 42/33 for Secretary of State, Denise Nappier is up 45/37 for Treasurer, and Kevin Lembo leads 38/33 for Comptroller.

I have known Tom Scott since he was a high school kid. It may be that his formal name is Thomas but his parents Walter and Dorothy were a bit casual about names and did not give Tom a middle name or even a middle initial. I have no idea why. These links are, I think, the only instance of him being called Thomas. It is confusing that the Demonrats actually found someone named Thomas Scott to run against Tom in the 14th Senate District in an obvious attempt to confuse voters. The Demonrat lost by about 2 to 1, proving the base Demonrat vote in the District.

Tom knew how to connect with Democrat blue collar voters like no other Republican I ever saw this side of Ronaldus Maximus. When Tom first ran for State Senate in 1980 against a veteran Democrat John Prete, people questioned whether a candidate like Tom, being only 21 or 22 years old and still a college student was really ready for the responsibility of being a State Senator, Tom's answer was that he was part of a balanced ticket: Tom's youth and enthusiasm slated under Ronald Reagan's age, wisdom and experience. Another slogan used throughout his career was: Tom Scott: He says what he means and he means what he says. He was never a champion of upper class tax cuts, though a number of his towns were silk stocking and a larger number were blue collar like Tom and his family. One year, Tom painted my house and did a superb job.

When Tom ran tax protest movements oriented against such horrors (in Connecticut) as a tax on wages and salaries, it was a career long commitment and always featured ordinary men and women who worked hard with their hands for a living. Connecticut had substantial taxes on capital gains and interest and dividends and valuable estates but NOT on wages and salaries. The drumbeat in anti-tax campaigns was a question as to why Mr. and Mrs. Megabucks should have their taxes slashed in half by shoving the burden onto some kid flipping burgers at Mickey Ds, waiting instead to slash wasteful state spending in an amount matching ALL tax cuts including those for blue collars. Blue collar folks ate it up because NOBODY but Tom spoke forcefully in politics for blue collars.

Tommy even started one Congressional campaign by holding a free hot dog and hamburger roast at a Revolutionary War Memorial Park (where a battle had occurred in New Haven. The undoubtedly Democrat neighborhood was leafleted for about a week inviting everyone. It was all over the newspapers and media and featured ghetto kids having the time of their lives, filling the park along with their adults, wolfing as much food as they wanted, climbing all over the bronze statues of the Revolutionary War heroes and their cannons. The park is smack dab in the middle of the toughest ghetto in New Haven. No violence that day just a lot of happy Black kids. I had known many Democrat Machine leaders for years. When they saw the press and media coverage, they needed mass medical care.

Tom was trusted on Israel like no other local politician in Connecticut. He had to go to address the men's club at a verrrrry liberal congregation in a wealthy suburb to prove his bona fides. Most of those present agreed with him only on Israel and national defense (the weapon system not funded cannot be sold to Israel). One liberal in the audience asked Tom about abortion and why he was actually pro-life and not an advocate of "women's rights." About ten guys in the audience turned on the questioner telling him that abortion was not why Tom had been invited and, if the questioner could not limit his questions to Israel and national defense and weapons, the questioner should leave.

His campaign song was "I'm proud to be an American" by Lee Greenwood. Bob Dornan came from California and campaigned for him. Tom was asked (and agreed) to go to Tennessee to help Marsha Blackburn's campaign for Congress. Dick Armey invited him to his office in DC after a very successful tax protest in 1991 drew 60,000 people to the state capitol lawn.

The costs of the tax protest were largely borne by the United Food and Commercial Workers' Union, headed up by a man we had never met who was a refugee from Cuba to the US. They provided the stage and the powerful sound system. There were members of many other unions enthusiastically attending. Governor Weicker threatened to take away the registrations of any school buses used to transport adults to the rally. The Teamsters Union offered to send its men out to ride on each side of each bus. The state troopers' union told Weicker to go fry ice because they refused to harass the buses,. Electrical workers showed up in force. Many union guys wore satin jackets with their union logos attached. A high point of the event was the arrival of an oversized tractor (tractor trailer variety) Forest green in color festooned with anti-income tax and anti-Weicker slogans in absolute white. This is a famous vehicle used in labor protests in Connecticut and it has a name: The War Wagon. Teamsters had often supported Weicker previously but this message was well understood as: Resign Weicker and Go Home to Greenwich! You Rich anti-Labor Bastard. Weicker never ran for office again. He had tried to create an alliance between labor and the GOP as a US senator. Tom Scott took even Weicker's friendly unions, turned them against him and rubbed his nose in it.

Tom said in 1994 after the loss as an Independent for the governor's office, that he would retire from public life. He says what he means and means what he says. It has been twenty years since he retired at about 36 years of age and, having married, began to raise a family.

When the same liberals who drove Ed Koch from the New York City mayoralty to install the hapless David Dinkins as mayor came and begged Koch to run for mayor again, Koch said "no, you have been very naughty and now you have to be punished." Koch never ran again. Without saying those words, Tom Scott seems to have made the same policy implicit at a much earlier age and stuck to it.

If Republicans and conservatives would learn the simple courtesy of just talking to as many kinds of voters and as many voters as possible respectfully, honestly, asking probing questions as to what they suffer at the heavy hand of government, how is the local school system doing, etc., and most importantly, what do YOU want your state senator or representative to do or not do and why.

The winter after his first election fell very shortly after election day. There were single digit temperatures in the daytime. Tom slogged on foot, door to door in that weather all through November and December until the legislature convened. People were flabbergasted. Tom looked like a beardless youth. Women on his journeys wanted him to stay and warm up while they made hot chocolate for him. Most of all they were nonplussed by the fact that he introduced himself as their newly elected state senator coming to their house to find out what they wanted him to do in Hartford. And this was immediately AFTER he was elected!

Politics is a lot of work but, if the candidate and his supporters work at it, he can make allies of supposed enemies, and find allies in the strangest places. Democrats will talk to anyone. Republicans want to talk to the already convinced. That is not enough.

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